Mortar attacks kill 12 in Syria

DAMASCUS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people was killed and more than 40 others injured on Wednesday in multiple mortar attacks against the Syrian capital Damascus and the southern province of Sweida, official SANA news agency reported.

Eight people were killed and 34 others wounded when armed militant groups fired mortar shells against Damascus' southeastern suburb of Jaramana, the Harasta highway and the Police Hospital of Harasta suburb, SANA said.

Two people were killed in mortar shelling against the Damascus' districts of Mazzeh and Burnieh. Another two were killed in the southern province of Sweida when mortar shells struck a funeral.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the mortar attack in Sweida was launched by radical jihadist groups against the funeral of a member of the pro-government National Defense Force militia.

The intensified mortar shelling against government-controlled areas in Syria coincided with the fierce battle between government troops and armed militant groups in Damascus' eastern suburb of Jobar, a hideout for rebels against President Bashar al-Assad's administration.

The three-year Syria crisis has left more than 150,000 people killed and millions displaced. It has spiraled into a bloody military conflict between the Syrian army and foreign-backed armed rebels, including al-Qaida-inspired groups.